CP Literature Reviews

LITERATURE REVIEWS

1. 'A Conversation With Brian Eno About Ambient Music'

https://pitchfork.com/features/interview/10023-a-conversation-with-brian-eno-about-ambient-music/

In this Interview, well-known British music producer Brian Eno shares his input on Ambient Music and his work within the genre. In the interview, we are introduced to some of his unorthodox recording methods in his Notting Hill studio. Some of these include randomization scripts to be used within Logic, which randomizes MIDI notes accordingly to the setting you choose. The Studio he works in also features numerous speakers in different locations around the room in order to enhance the 3D sound, swaying from the conventional 2 or 4 speakers placed in front.

This is all relative to my progress in understanding the production of ambient sound and thus relative to the progress of my project. I hope to use this interview and some of these techniques as a reference when trying to be creative in my production.

2. 'METRO BOOMIN | Beats Tutorial | FL Studio | Razer Music'

In this Interview/Tutorial, 'Metro Boomin', American trap record producer shares his methods and techniques involved when making Drums and 808s for his tracks. Metro takes us through his way of spacing out kicks and 808s to form a solid groove, instead of frequent kicks on every hit. The producer also gives advice on where to place snares and perc hits and other useful advice.


For the EP my group will be producing, the tracks main driving sounds, melodies and chords will fall under ambience while our drums and bass sounds will sound more towards the genre of the trap. Learning Production techniques such as the ones mentioned in this video will be essential in incorporating this into our tracks and giving the trap sound we are looking for. furthermore In this specific video, Metro Boomin also only talks about drums and 808s, serving as a good tutorial to take things from. Despite this, I will only take inspiration from this and not copy specific actions as I do not want for our tracks to sound too generic.

3. '27 Essential Ambient Production Techniques'

https://www.musicradar.com/tuition/tech/27-essential-ambient-production-tips-166772

In this article/tutorial, 'Computer Music' shares 27 tips and techniques for creating Ambient Music. The Tips range from effects to note placement, giving a good insight into getting started to produce Ambient Sounds. Some of the main things I got from this article was the tips involving sound creation and sourcing. Sampling was talked about briefly and even the use of nature recordings such as rainfall.

This Article I can say helped me progress the most with Ambience. As a newbie to the genre, learning some of these techniques was very inspiring towards my production. Some aspects of Ambience I have heard through research has been hard to replicate with my previous skill set, but with a lot of these tips, I have understood the methods of creating these sounds and have been able to do so. After reading this, I have applied a numerous amount of these techniques to my previous attempts with Ambience and have only gotten improvements doing so.

4. 'Brian Eno's Ambient 1: Music for Airports Sleeve Notes'

http://www.indiana.edu/~audioweb/T369/eno-ambient.pdf

In these Artist Notes of the Brian Eno's 1978 album, he explains his passion for the Ambient genre and elaborates on some of the dynamics of his work. Eno critiques the current state of conventional background music, saying that it dampens and diverts the acoustics of the room it is playing in. On the other hand, Eno explains how he wants his work to compliment the enviroment and enhance these acoustics.

This is good at progressing with my understanding of Ambience. Eno's ideas and concepts stated here and in other statements are recognizable in Ambient Music today and played a pivotal role in shaping the genre's qualities. Furthermore, in order to create sounds similar to modern Ambience myself, reading and understanding the method behind Eno's work will be a good way to do so. When resume producing some Ambient Sounds, I will keep in my mind the Idea of complimenting the acoustics and other points stated in these notes.

5. 'How to Record Better Vocals'

This article/tutorial presents some tips and tricks for recording vocals. Some good advice I got from this was the issues that can come from recording vocals:

1. Popping
2. Sibilance
3. Proximity Effect
4. Foot Noise
5. Poor Room Acoustics

These issues and some of the causes for them were addressed in detail, along with solutions and better methods for avoiding these issues.

I found this along with similar articles very useful in getting started to record vocals. Although the Vocals for our tracks have not been fully finished yet, it's important for me to plan and research beforehand as recording vocals is something I am not yet familiar with. From these tips, I can prepare the sessions and try to avoid issues before they come up.

CP Case Study: Ambient sounds

CASE STUDY: AMBIENT MUSIC

For my work in the Collaborative Project, I will be producing a 5 Track EP along with my co-producers. To help create an overall theme of the EP, we have chosen to base our sounds on the genre of Ambience. In this case study, I will look into the history of Ambience as a genre and the dynamics of the sounds used in ambient music today.

HISTORY OF THE GENRE

The origins of Ambient Music can be linked back to the work and compositions of the early 20th-century French composer, Erik Satie and his pivotal work within the classical Avante-Garde, a movement which prided itself in being at the forefront of unorthodox art. (1). Satie's ideas of creating pieces as background music rather than being at the centre of attention formed the early foundations of the Ambient Genre. This young concept was labelled as 'furniture music', and was designed to be heard but not listened to. (2)

The evolution of background music also has a big part to play in the roots of ambience. In the Early 20s, US Major General George O. Squier used his skills as an inventor and Army Chief Signal Officer to develop a method of sending music via Electrical wires (3). Progressing into the twentieth century, demand for music intended to be played in the background of public spaces grew. Squier took his invention and developed it into a company named 'Muzak inc', supplying background music for all types of businesses such as Hotels, bars, restaurants as well as elevators (4).  

BRIAN ENO IN HIS STUDIO
(2002)

The term 'Ambience' was first coined by British producer, Brian Eno, in the liner notes of his 1972 album, 'Ambient 1: Music For Airports. In these notes, Eno elaborates on his outlook of Ambient music and the ideas and concepts behind his music (5).


"An ambience is defined as an atmosphere, or a surrounding influence: a tint. My intention is to produce original pieces ostensibly (but not exclusively) for particular times and situations with a view to building up a small but versatile catalogue of environmental music suited to a wide variety of moods and atmospheres."

Brian Eno's words within the sleeve notes of his album 'Ambient 1: Music for Airports


 Instead of creating background music that was intended to blanket the environment and divert from its natural acoustics, Eno wanted to produce music to enhance these acoustics and induce composure for the mind (5). Furthermore to his concept, the producers work within the album does not follow conventional musical concepts or rules. Eno's 4 track project features chunks of instruments and atmospheric sounds playing in no particular order, excluding key musical aspects such as melodies and chords (6). 

THE MODERN AMBIENT SOUND

While researching through Ambient Music and listening to older and modern Ambient tracks, it is clear for me to see that the concepts and experimentation of artists such as Erik Satie and Brian Eno have had a big impact on the Ambient Genre. Their ideas of using and enhancing the atmosphere with dynamic sounds can be found frequently among Ambient Music. The genre has evolved into a style that retains the use of lots of sound design elements. In Ambient Tracks, textural pads and instruments combined with atmospherical effects are used to create longing soundscapes that drive through the song. The Timbre and harmonic qualities of these sounds are emphasised more than their harmony and melodic characteristics and are sculpted for long time-scales within the track. With the exclusion of melodies and chords, envelopes and flutters within the frequencies are used to create movement and replace the use of rhythm evident in other genres.

THESE POINTS ARE EVIDENT IN THE EXAMPLE TRACK BELOW

Layering these sounds is also essential in Ambient music. In comparison to genres such as hip-hop or rock where layers of instruments and sounds are used in contrast and vary in tone, the layers used in ambient music share many of the same qualities and work together to create a more monochromatic sound. For example, in a modern trap track, an 808 bass will stand out and create an underlying bassline for the song. In an ambient track, a darker toned synth may take its place in creating a low pitched layer.

Effects are also used in all aspects of Ambient Music. One of these effects is reverb, which when used emulates the space a sound is in and the atmospherical qualities that would come with that space. Implementing a large and longing reverb into the sounds used is key to creating a track with Ambience.

REFLECTION

In this case study, I have researched the origins and production of the ambient genre. Through doing so I have developed a thorough understanding of the genre and have applied this knowledge to my work within the project.

Learning the origins of the genre has been essential in my understanding of Ambient music as a whole. I feel like I have a good understanding of the concepts that the architects of this genre applied to their productions and the values that they upheld within the music, in turn, this has inspired my own Ambient production and this project.

In terms of production, my knowledge regarding the techniques and methods used to create Ambient music has massively expanded. Before starting this project, my understanding of the production of Ambience was limited in scope. I now feel fully confident in producing this genre.

Below is a loop I created within Logic Pro X using presets found within the 'OX-BD' VST. The sound shows a good example of the dynamics within Ambience and the heavy use of reverb, however, I have tried to implement less experimental techniques and emphasise more stereotypical musical aspects. This is because our goal within the project is to create an 'Ambient Trap' EP rather than a fully Ambient EP.


Ongoing, I am confident my research within the Ambient genre will reflect within many of my future productions. Although my personal production genres of choice differ from the 'standard Ambient genre', the energy and emotion that the Ambient sound creates is a powerful tool to add to my production toolbox, and I will most likely use these skills and concepts in future projects to come

166772https://modeaudio.com/magazine/ambient-5-production-essentials#.XRHwkJNKg0o

https://www.izotope.com/en/blog/music-production/understanding-atmosphere-in-music-and-how-to-create-it.html

http://music.hyperreal.org/epsilon/info/melchior.html